Commingling flow between transport tubes of a multi-transport tube shunt system

ABSTRACT

A technique facilitates gravel packing along a borehole. According to an embodiment, a shunt system is positioned along a sand screen system. The shunt system comprises a plurality of transport tubes and a plurality of packing tubes. A manifold is coupled to the plurality of transport tubes and to the plurality of packing tubes at a corresponding sand screen joint of the sand screen system. The manifold serves to separate a portion of the gravel slurry flowing through the plurality of transport tubes and to direct the portion into the corresponding packing tubes. Additionally, a commingler is positioned along the plurality of transport tubes at a location separate from the manifold. The commingler has an internal chamber where gravel slurry is received from uphole transport tube sections and is commingled before flowing into downhole transport tube sections.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present document is based on and claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 62/826,235, filed Mar. 29, 2019, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Gravel packs are used in wells for removing particulates from inflowinghydrocarbon fluids. Generally, a completion having a plurality of sandscreen joints is deployed downhole in a wellbore and a gravel pack isformed around the completion. In some applications, shunt systems areused to facilitate distribution of the gravel pack. As an example, anopen hole shunted gravel pack screen system may be configured with twotransport tubes and two packing tubes in a 2×2 shunt system. Such asystem effectively has two independent gravel packing systems in whicheach transport tube operates independently of the other and eachtransport tube has a dedicated packing tube along each screen joint.However, if one of the independent transport tubes becomes inoperable,the functionality of half the system is lost, and this increases therisk of an incomplete gravel pack.

Attempts have been made to limit this risk by commingling the transportslurry where the slurry is exposed to both the transport tubes andpacking tubes along each sand screen joint. Such systems utilizeconcentric shunt systems having annular commingling volumes, whichaccommodate this mixing at the interface between transport tubes andpacking tubes. However, the commingling of slurry at this interfacebetween transport tubes and packing tubes may be undesirable in avariety of applications.

SUMMARY

In general, a system and methodology are provided for facilitatinggravel packing along a borehole. According to an embodiment, a shuntsystem is positioned along a sand screen system. The shunt systemcomprises a plurality of transport tubes and a plurality of packingtubes. A manifold is coupled to the plurality of transport tubes and tothe plurality of packing tubes at a corresponding sand screen joint ofthe sand screen system. The manifold serves to separate a portion of thegravel slurry flowing through the plurality of transport tubes and todirect the portion into the corresponding packing tubes. Additionally, acommingler is positioned along the plurality of transport tubes at alocation separate from the manifold. The commingler has an internalchamber where gravel slurry is received from uphole transport tubesections and is commingled before flowing into downhole transport tubesections.

However, many modifications are possible without materially departingfrom the teachings of this disclosure. Accordingly, such modificationsare intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure asdefined in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Certain embodiments of the disclosure will hereafter be described withreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numeralsdenote like elements. It should be understood, however, that theaccompanying figures illustrate the various implementations describedherein and are not meant to limit the scope of various technologiesdescribed herein, and:

FIG. 1 is an orthogonal view of a well system having a sand screensystem combined with a shunt system, according to an embodiment of thedisclosure;

FIG. 2 is an illustration similar to that of FIG. 1 but showing cutawayportions, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a portion of the well system showing anexample of a commingler disposed along transport tubes, according to anembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a sand screen system having aplurality of sand screen joints combined with an example of a shuntsystem, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of an example of a manifold combinedwith a commingler, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of a sand screen system having aplurality of sand screen joints combined with another example of a shuntsystem, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of another example of a shunt system,according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of another example of a shunt system,according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of a sand screen system having aplurality of sand screen joints combined with another example of a shuntsystem, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a schematic illustration of an example of a manifold combinedwith a dual commingler, according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 11A is an orthogonal view of a well system having a sand screensystem combined with a shunt system, according to another embodiment ofthe disclosure; and

FIG. 11B is a comparison of jumper tubes shown in the system of FIG. 1and a conjoined commingled jumper shown in the system of FIG. 11A,according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous details are set forth to providean understanding of some embodiments of the present disclosure. However,it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that thesystem and/or methodology may be practiced without these details andthat numerous variations or modifications from the described embodimentsmay be possible.

The disclosure herein generally involves a system and methodology tofacilitate formation of gravel packs in wellbores and thus thesubsequent improved production of well fluids. According to anembodiment, a system and methodology are provided for facilitatinggravel packing along a borehole. A sand screen system may be constructedwith a plurality of sand screen joints having screens or filters forfiltering inflowing production fluid during production of the wellfluids. To facilitate the gravel packing operation, a shunt system ispositioned along the sand screen system.

The shunt system may comprise a plurality of transport tubes and aplurality of packing tubes. A manifold is coupled to the plurality oftransport tubes and to the plurality of packing tubes at a correspondingsand screen joint of the sand screen system. The manifold serves toseparate a portion of the gravel slurry flowing through the plurality oftransport tubes and to direct the portion into the corresponding packingtubes. In some embodiments, a manifold may be positioned along each sandscreen joint such that the corresponding packing tubes are able toensure proper gravel packing along the annulus surrounding each sandscreen joint. Additionally, a commingler is positioned along theplurality of transport tubes at a location separate from the manifold.The commingler has an internal chamber where gravel slurry is receivedfrom uphole transport tube sections and is commingled before flowinginto downhole transport tube sections. By way of example, at least onecommingler may be positioned along each sand screen joint. In someembodiments, the manifold and the commingler are positioned at oppositeends of each sand screen joint.

In various applications, the commingler is positioned to comminglegravel slurry received from two or more transport tube sections withoutinterfacing with the packing tubes. The commingler(s) may be used with avariety of shunt systems to facilitate commingling of the gravel slurryat a location separate from the manifold. By way of example, thecommingler(s) may be used with 2×2 shunt systems, 3×2 shunt systems, 4×2shunt systems, or other configurations of shunt systems. The overallconfiguration enables a reduction of pumping pressures and a reductionin carrier fluid leak-off during gravel packing operations.

Referring generally to FIGS. 1 and 2, an embodiment of a well system 30is illustrated. The well system 30 may be deployed in a variety ofboreholes 32, e.g. wellbores. According to the illustrated embodiment,the well system 30 comprises a sand screen system 34 having a pluralityof sand screen joints 36. Depending on the application, the sand screenjoints 36 may be constructed in a variety of configurations. By way ofexample, each sand screen joint 36 may comprise a base pipe 38 havingappropriate perforations and/or inflow control devices through whichproduction fluid may flow to an interior of the base pipe 38 duringproduction operations. It should be noted that the perforations and/orinflow control devices also may be used to facilitate the return ofcarrier fluid from the gravel slurry during gravel packing operations.

Each sand screen joint 36 also may comprise a filter 40, e.g. a sandscreen, positioned around each base pipe 38 to filter particulates fromthe inflowing well fluids before the well fluids pass through theperforations/inflow control devices of the base pipe 38. In someembodiments, a shroud 42 may be positioned around the filter 40 alongeach sand screen joint 36. Each shroud 42 also contains perforations 44to accommodate fluid flow therethrough. Sequential sand screen joints 36may be connected together via a suitable coupler 46, e.g. a box and pinend style connection.

In the embodiment illustrated, the well system 30 further comprises ashunt system 48 positioned along the sand screen system 34. By way ofexample, the shunt system 48 may comprise a plurality of transport tubes50 routed along each sand screen joint 36. The transport tubes 50 ofsequential sand screen joints 36 may be coupled together in fluidcommunication via, for example, jumper tubes 52. At least portions ofthe shunt system 48 may be located radially between each filter 40 andeach corresponding shroud 42.

The shunt system 48 also comprises a plurality of packing tubes 54 whichmay be disposed along, for example, each sand screen joint 36 to delivera portion of the gravel slurry to the annulus surrounding thecorresponding sand screen joint 36. As a gravel slurry is flowed alongthe transport tubes 50, a portion of that gravel slurry may be directedfrom the transport tubes 50 and into the corresponding packing tubes 54via a manifold 56.

With additional reference to FIG. 3, the shunt system 48 furthercomprises a commingler 58 positioned along the plurality of transporttubes 50 at a location separate from the manifold 56. The commingler 58has an internal chamber 60 where gravel slurry received from upholetransport tube sections 62 (of the plurality of transport tubes 50) iscommingled before flowing into downhole transport tube sections 64 (ofthe plurality of transport tubes 50). The internal chamber 60 is placedin fluid communication with uphole transport tube sections 62 via inlets66 and with downhole transport tube sections 64 via outlets 68. Theinternal chamber 60 provides a cavity for bringing together flow ofgravel slurry from the two or more transport tubes 50 and for mixing thegravel slurry flows before redistributing the gravel slurry downstreamthrough the commingler outlets 68. By way of example, the commingler 58and the internal chamber 60 may be positioned on one side of the sandscreen joint 36 rather than being constructed as an annular volumeencircling the sand screen joint 36.

Depending on the application, the commingler 58 may be positioned at avariety of locations along the corresponding sand screen joint 36. Inthe example illustrated, however, the commingler 58 is positionedgenerally on the pin-end of the corresponding sand screen joint 36. Asfurther illustrated schematically in FIG. 4, the commingler 58 may bepositioned at the pin-end of each sand screen joint 36 so as to delivercommingled gravel slurry to the next sequential manifold 56 located onthe next sequential sand screen joint 36.

In this example, the shunt system 48 comprises at least one manifold 56and at least one commingler 58 located along each corresponding sandscreen joint 36. The packing tubes 54 extend from the correspondingmanifold 56 and are routed along the corresponding sand screen joint 36to ensure delivery of gravel slurry along the surrounding annulus. Asfurther illustrated in FIG. 5, each manifold 56 serves to separate aportion of the gravel slurry into the corresponding packing tubes 54while directing the remainder of the gravel slurry downstream to thenext sequential commingler 58.

It should be noted that addition of the commingler 58 enables theaddition of one or more transport tubes 50 so as to reduce the pumpingpressure utilized for a given gravel pack distance. As furtherillustrated in FIG. 5, the additional or secondary transport tube 50 (oradditional tubes 50) is not coupled with a packing tube 54 but insteaddirectly passes through the manifold 56 via a pass through 70. In thisexample, the three transport tubes 50 direct their gravel slurry intothe next sequential commingler 58 for commingling within internalchamber 60.

By adding one secondary transport tube 50, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and6, the shunt system 48 may be considered a 3×2 shunt system while theaddition of two secondary transport tubes 50 to the 2×2 system may beconsidered a 4×2 shunt system. Other numbers of additional transporttubes 50 also can be added according to the parameters of a given systemand/or application. In addition to reducing pumping pressure, theadditional transport tubes 50 in combination with the location of thecommingler 58 can greatly reduce leak-off of carrier fluid during agravel packing operation.

Gravel slurry is generally a combination of proppant and carrier fluid;and leak-off refers to the loss of carrier fluid to the wellbore annuluswithout a corresponding loss of proppant. The result is an undesirableincrease in proppant concentration within the gravel slurry. Leak-offoccurs where nozzles 72 of the packing tubes 54 communicate to thewellbore annulus (see FIG. 7).

In a 2×2 shunt system, the distance from the manifold 56 to the firstpacking tube nozzle 72 is the shortest distance for leak-off. Once theannulus is gravel packed around a given sand screen joint 36, theproppant will pack the inside of the corresponding packing tubes 54 backto the manifold 56, thus creating resistance to leak-off. However, thereis a limit to the distance downstream of the manifold 56 that the firstpacking tube nozzle 72 can be placed to achieve a desired gravel packbetween the first packing tube nozzle 72 and the next closest nozzle 72of the previous uphole sand screen joint 36. The leak-off distance forthe additional transport tube(s) 50 (e.g. the middle transport tube 50labeled transport tube #3 in FIG. 7) is equivalent to the distancebetween the first packing tube nozzle 72 and the manifold 56 plus thedistance from the manifold 56 to the corresponding commingler 58.

It should be noted the corresponding commingler 58 may be located abovethe manifold 56 on, for example, the next sequential uphole sand screenjoint 36, as illustrated in FIG. 7. In other embodiments, however, themanifold 56 may be located above the corresponding commingler 58, asillustrated in FIG. 8. Accordingly, the maximum leak-off distanceachievable is one half the length of a sand screen joint 36 plus thedistance to the first packing tube nozzle 72. It should be noted thatthroughout this description the term “above” refers to a relativeposition uphole and the term “below” refers to a relative positiondownhole. In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, theproximity of the commingler 58 to the manifold 56 may exhibit maximumleak-off performance if the commingler 58 is located approximatelymidway between two manifolds 56 of adjacent screen joints 36.

According to an example, a sand screen joint 36 may be 38 feet in lengthand a first nozzle distance may be 6 feet. In this scenario, a maximumleak-off distance for the middle transport tube 50 (tube #3) would be38/2+6=25 feet. This increased leak-off resistance for theadditional/secondary transport tubes greatly improves the systemreliability especially for extended reach gravel packs, e.g. gravelpacks greater than 6000 feet or even greater than 10000 feet. It shouldbe noted the distances and sizes used in this example are providedmerely for purposes of explanation and the actual distances and sizescan vary substantially.

Referring generally to FIGS. 9 and 10, another embodiment of well system30 is illustrated. In this embodiment, the shunt system 48 is structuredas a 2×2×2 shunt system, which is accomplished by installing twocommingling volumes in the form of a dual commingler 74 having twocomminglers 58. The dual commingler 74 may be located at a distanceupstream or downstream of a corresponding manifold 56, e.g. at somedistance away from the interface between the transport tubes 50 and thepacking tubes 54.

The embodiment further utilizes an additional (secondary) transport tube50 alongside each of the transport tubes 50 that would exist in a 2×2shunt system configuration. The dual commingler 74 creates twoindependent gravel pack pathways and provides a secondary transport tube50 to each primary transport tube 50. In the illustrated arrangement,the secondary transport tube 50 has a sufficiently long leak-off path toeliminate leak-off concern, thus providing an especially usefulconfiguration for use in extended reach gravel pack applications.

In the example illustrated, each primary transport tube 50 is coupledwith a corresponding packing tube 54 while each secondary transport tube50 passes through the manifold 56 to the corresponding commingler 58 ofthe dual commingler 74. In other words, each primary transport tube 50and its corresponding secondary transport tube 50 is placed in fluidcommunication with one of the comminglers 50 of the dual commingler 74as illustrated. The secondary transport tubes 50 effectively provideadditional transport tubes with long leak-of distances to ensure thattwo transport tubes 50 always communicate to a toe of the well.

Each commingler 50 receives gravel slurry flow from one of the primaryand one of the secondary transport tubes 50 and redistributes the gravelslurry downstream into the same two transport tubes 50. Effectively,each commingler 58 of the dual commingler 74 contributes to reducingpumping pressure during gravel packing through the shunt system 48 whilehomogenizing the gravel slurry in the corresponding, e.g. partnered,transport tubes 50. If plugging occurs in a primary transport tube 50,each commingler 58 is able to help reestablish flow of gravel slurrydownstream of the plug in the blocked transport tube 50.

Depending on the parameters of a given well application, the componentsand configuration of the sand screen system 34 may vary. For example,the sand screen system 34 may utilize different numbers of sand screenjoints 36 connected sequentially along various types of boreholes, e.g.horizontal or otherwise deviated wellbores. Each sand screen joint 36may utilize different types of filters, flow control devices, shrouds,and/or other components. Similarly, the shunt system 48 may comprisetransport tubes 50 and packing tubes 54 of various sizes and numbers.The manifolds 56 and comminglers 58 also may be utilized along the shuntsystem 48 in various patterns and arrangements. The size andconfiguration of each manifold 56 and each commingler 58 also may varyaccording to the parameters of a given gravel packing and/or productionoperation. In some well applications, the manifold 56 and/or commingler58 may be located on various other components such as on an intermediatepup joint located between sand screen joints. Additionally, shunt systemcomponents may be located on some sand screen joints, e.g. every othersand screen joint. For example, a commingler or comminglers 58 may bespaced out along the shunt system 48, e.g. placed on every other sandscreen joint 36.

Referring now to FIG. 11A, an orthogonal view of a well system 30 havinga sand screen system 34 combined with a shunt system 48, according toone or more embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Asspecifically shown in FIG. 11A, the commingler 58 may be integrated intoa conjoined commingled jumper 76 of the shunt system 48, according toone or more embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 11A,transport tubes 50 of sequential sand screen joints 36 may be coupledtogether in fluid communication via the conjoined commingled jumper 76,which includes a commingler 58, as previously described, integrated withtwo jumper tubes 52, according to one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. Further, for the sake of clarity, FIG. 11B shows acomparison of a pair of jumper tubes 52 and the conjoined commingledjumper 76, according to one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. As previously described, the pair of jumper tubes 52 may beimplemented in embodiments of the present disclosure where thecommingler 58 is built into the screen joint 36, and the conjoinedcommingled jumper 76 may be implemented in embodiments of the presentdisclosure where the commingler 58 is built into the jumper tubes 52.Advantageously, building the commingler 58 into the jumper tubes 52 viathe conjoined commingled jumper 76 in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure provides a more affordableassembly than building the commingler 58 into the screen joint 36.Further, one or more embodiments of the present disclosure that includea conjoined commingled jumper 76 in the sand screen system 34 enjoy asmaller footprint over embodiments of the present disclosure thatinclude a commingler 58 built into the screen joint 36. This smallerfootprint may translate into more preferable storage and inventorymanagement logistics.

Moreover, a commingler 58 may be sporadically placed in the sand screensystem 34 in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Forexample, one or more sand screen joints 36 of the sand screen system 34may not be associated with a commingler 58 at all (either in the sandscreen joint 36 itself or in the associated jumper tubes 52) in one ormore embodiments of the present disclosure. Indeed, one or morecomminglers 58 may be spaced along the well system 30 at every sandscreen joint 36, every couple of joints 36, every few joints 36, everyseveral joints 36, every 10 joints 36, every 20 joints 36, or onecommingler 58 may be positioned per zone within the completion, orseveral comminglers 58 may be positioned within each zone of thecompletion, or any number of sporadic placements. All such embodimentsare contemplated and are within the scope of the present disclosure.

Although a few embodiments of the disclosure have been described indetail above, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciatethat many modifications are possible without materially departing fromthe teachings of this disclosure. Accordingly, such modifications areintended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as definedin the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for use in a well, comprising: a sandscreen system having a plurality of sand screen joints; and a shuntsystem positioned along the sand screen system, the shunt systemcomprising: a plurality of transport tubes; a plurality of packingtubes; a plurality of jumper tubes, which fluidly couple transport tubesof sequential sand screen joints of the plurality of sand screen jointstogether; a manifold coupled to the plurality of transport tubes and tothe plurality of packing tubes to separate a portion of a gravel slurryflowing through the plurality of transport tubes into the plurality ofpacking tubes; and a commingler positioned along the plurality oftransport tubes or the plurality of jumper tubes at a location separatefrom the manifold, the commingler having an internal chamber wheregravel slurry, received from uphole transport tubes sections of theplurality of transport tubes, is commingled before flowing into downholetransport tubes sections of the plurality of transport tubes.
 2. Thesystem as recited in claim 1, wherein the commingler is located upholerelative to the manifold.
 3. The system as recited in claim 1, whereinthe manifold is located uphole relative to the commingler.
 4. The systemas recited in claim 1, wherein the commingler is positioned along theplurality of transport tubes, and is located on a first sand screenjoint of the plurality of sand screen joints, and the manifold islocated on a second sand screen joint of the plurality of sand screenjoints.
 5. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein the manifoldcomprises a plurality of manifolds with at least one manifold positionedon each sand screen joint.
 6. The system as recited in claim 5, whereinthe commingler comprises a plurality of comminglers with at least onecommingler positioned on at least one sand screen joint.
 7. The systemas recited in claim 6, wherein a dual commingler is positioned along atleast one sand screen joint.
 8. The system as recited in claim 1,wherein the shunt system further comprises a secondary transport tubewhich passes through the manifold.
 9. The system as recited in claim 1,wherein the shunt system further comprises a plurality of secondarytransport tubes which pass through the manifold.
 10. The system asrecited in claim 1, wherein the commingler is positioned along theplurality of jumper tubes in a conjoined commingled jumper.
 11. Amethod, comprising: positioning a shunt system along a sand screensystem; deploying the shunt system and the sand screen system into aborehole; depositing a gravel slurry along the sand screen system via aplurality of packing tubes coupled with a plurality of gravel slurrytransport tubes via a manifold; and commingling gravel slurry, flowingthrough the plurality of gravel slurry transport tubes, within acommingler located along the sand screen system at a position separatedfrom the manifold.
 12. The method as recited in claim 11, whereincommingling comprises commingling gravel slurry received from two gravelslurry transport tubes.
 13. The method as recited in claim 11, furthercomprising providing the sand screen system with a plurality of sandscreen joints connected sequentially.
 14. The method as recited in claim13, wherein positioning comprises positioning at least one manifoldalong each sand screen joint, and at least one commingler along at leastone sand screen joint.
 15. The method as recited in claim 14, furthercomprising: providing the shunt system with additional transport tubesat each sand screen joint; and passing the additional transport tubesthrough the manifold at each sand screen joint without placing theadditional transport tubes in fluid communication with the packingtubes.
 16. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein positioningcomprises positioning two comminglers at each sand screen joint andconnecting at least one gravel slurry transport tube and at least oneadditional transport tube to each commingler of the two comminglers. 17.The method as recited in claim 11, further comprising arranging theshunt system as a 2×2 shunt system.
 18. The method as recited in claim11, further comprising arranging the shunt system as a 3×2 shunt system.19. The method as recited in claim 11, further comprising arranging theshunt system as a 4×2 shunt system.
 20. The method as recited in claim11, further comprising: providing the sand screen system with aplurality of sand screen joints connected sequentially; and providingthe sand screen system with a plurality of jumper tubes, which fluidlycouple the transport tubes of sequential sand screen joints together,wherein positioning comprises positioning at least one commingler alongthe plurality of jumper tubes in a conjoined commingled jumper.
 21. Asystem, comprising: a shunt system for use in facilitating gravelpacking of a wellbore, the shunt system comprising: a plurality oftransport tubes; a plurality of packing tubes; a manifold coupled to theplurality of transport tubes and to the plurality of packing tubes toprovide an interface for separating a portion of a gravel slurry flowingthrough the plurality of transport tubes into the plurality of packingtubes; and a commingler separated from the manifold and coupled with theplurality of transport tubes to provide commingling of gravel slurry,flowing along the plurality of transport tubes, independently of theinterface for separating the portion of gravel slurry into the pluralityof packing tubes.